Roles Of Women In Policing Essay

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Police agencies have a bureaucratic structure. The systematic administration of police departments is characterized by specialization of tasks and duties, objective qualifications for positions, action according to rules and regulations, and a hierarchy of authority. Bureaucratization maximizes efficiency. (Harcourt, 2016) This bureaucratic structure has given policing agencies three unique characteristics Military Modeling of Policing, Community Policing, and Diversity in Law Enforcement

Military Modeling of Policing

When American policing emerged in the mid-19th century, the quasi-Military model became the dominant orientation. The American model differed from the English model in that American police agencies issued firearms,

Discrimination against black officers was prevalent in all parts of the United States (segregated patrol cars, not allowed to arrest whites, etc.). Today, the number of African-America officers is increasing but not the number of black supervisors Hispanic officers have made inroads in policing. However, they have experienced individual and institutional discrimination. Information on Asian American officers is sparse. However, the numbers have increased in the past 10 to 15 years. Policing is considered a low position in the Asian community and police work has a negative connotation in those communities. Women in policing have faced a long history of discrimination which has both restricted their duties and held down their numbers. The first woman police officer was Lola Baldwin who was hired in Portland, Oregon in 1905. When Alice Wells was hired by the LAPD in 1910 the hiring of woman began to become more common. But, those women were hired to perform specialized functions, such as patrolling areas where juveniles hung out. The emerging philosophy of “crime prevention” made recruiting women more acceptable. Women were perceived as more nurturing and it was thought that would serve as an aide in crime prevention. (Adkins,